Existing law requires each pupil completing grade 12 to satisfy certain requirements as a condition of receiving a diploma of graduation from high school. These requirements include the successful passage of the high school exit examination and the completion of designated coursework in grades 9 to 12, inclusive. The coursework requirements include the completion of at least 2 courses in mathematics. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to adopt additional coursework requirements. This bill would authorize the governing board of a school district that requires more than 2 courses in mathematics for graduation to award a pupil up to one mathematics course credit for successfully completing an approved computer science course, as provided.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes procedures by which a voter may request a recount of the votes cast in an election following completion of the official canvass. Under existing law, the voter seeking the recount is required, before the recount is commenced and at the beginning of each subsequent day, to deposit with the elections official the amount of money required by the elections official to cover the cost of the recount for that day. This bill would modify and apply these provisions to the campaign committee, as defined, that is represented by the voter filing the request to seek a recount.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt statewide academically rigorous content standards, pursuant to recommendations of the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards, in core curriculum areas. This bill would require the Instructional Quality Commission to consider developing and recommending to the state board, on or before July 31, 2019, computer science content standards for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, pursuant to recommendations developed by a group of computer science experts. The bill would require the commission to consider existing computer science content standards, including, but not limited to, national K–12 computer science content standards developed by the Computer Science Teachers Association. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with the state board, to consider convening that group of experts and ensure that the group includes individuals from specified groups. The bill would declare that the operation of its provisions is subject to an appropriation being made for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
Existing law authorizes a school district or school to provide a comprehensive program in first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, or both, to pupils and employees, and requires the program to be developed using specified guidelines. This bill would authorize a public school to solicit and receive nonstate funds to acquire and maintain an automated external defibrillator (AED) . The bill would provide that the employees of the school district are not liable for civil damages resulting from certain uses, attempted uses, or nonuses of an AED, except as provided. The bill would provide that a public school or school district that complies with certain requirements related to an AED is not liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission in the rendering of the emergency care or treatment, except as provided.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law provides for the issuance of reciprocal licenses in certain fields where the applicant, among other requirements, has a license to practice within that field in another jurisdiction, as specified. Existing law requires that the licensing fees imposed by certain boards within the department be deposited in funds that are continuously appropriated. Existing law requires a board within the department to expedite the licensure process for an applicant who holds a current license in another jurisdiction in the same profession or vocation and who supplies satisfactory evidence of being married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in California under official active duty military orders. This bill would, in addition to the expedited licensure provisions described above, establish a temporary licensure process for specified licensed professions for an applicant who holds a current, active, and unrestricted license in another jurisdiction, as specified, and who supplies satisfactory evidence of being married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in California under official active duty military orders. The bill would require a temporary license issued pursuant to these provisions to expire 12 months after issuance, upon issuance of an expedited license, or upon denial of the application for expedited licensure by the board, whichever occurs first. This bill would also require an applicant seeking a temporary license as a civil engineer, geotechnical engineer, structural engineer, land surveyor, professional geologist, professional geophysicist, certified engineering geologist, or certified hydrogeologist to successfully pass the appropriate California-specific examination or examinations required for licensure in those respective professions by the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Because the bill would authorize the expenditure of continuously appropriated funds for a new purpose, the bill would make an appropriation.
The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act requires that all meetings of a state body, as defined, be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate in any meeting of a state body, subject to certain conditions and exceptions. This bill would modify the definition of "state body" to exclude an advisory body with less than 3 individuals, except for certain standing committees. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California's public and independent segments of higher education, and their respective institutions of higher education. Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, and the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as 2 of the public segments of postsecondary education in this state. A provision of the act requires the California State University and requests the University of California to establish a uniform set of model academic standards for high school courses for pupils who wish to attend those institutions. Existing law establishes the Academic Content Standards Commission and requires the commission to develop internationally benchmarked academic content standards in language arts and mathematics, at least 85% of which are required to be the common core academic standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative consortium or another specified interstate collaboration. This bill would express the Legislature's intent that the University of California and the California State University align their respective model academic standards for high school courses in language arts and mathematics to these academic content standards developed by the commission. The bill would require the trustees and would request the regents to develop guidelines for high school computer science courses to be approved for purposes of recognition for admission to the California State University and the University of California, respectively, and would encourage the University of California to ensure that computer science courses that satisfy the mathematics subject area requirements for admission build upon fundamental mathematics content provided in courses that align with the academic content standards developed by the commission.
Existing law, the Bronzan-McCorquodale Act, sets out a system of community mental health care services provided by counties and administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. The act requires the Director of Health Care Services to establish a Performance Outcome Committee, as specified, and requires the committee to develop measures of performance for evaluating client outcomes and cost-effectiveness of mental health services provided by counties, as specified. The act requires counties to annually report data on these performance measures to local mental health advisory boards and to the director. The act requires the director to annually make this county performance data available to the Legislature, as specified. This bill would additionally require the director to annually post the county performance data described above on the department's Internet Web site. The act also establishes the California Mental Health Planning Council, the purpose of which is to fulfill certain mental health planning requirements mandated by federal law. The act also requires the council, among other things, to review program performance in delivering mental health services based on specified data and reports, and to report findings and recommendations on programs' performance annually to the Legislature, the department, and the local boards. This bill would require the council to post these findings and recommendations annually on the council's Internet Web site.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in an amount equal to an applicable percentage of either 20% or 25%, respectively, of the qualified expenditures, as defined, attributable to the production of a qualified motion picture in California, or, where the qualified motion picture is a television series that relocated to California or is an independent film, as provided. Existing law imposes specified duties on the California Film Commission related to the administration of the credits, including a requirement to allocate the tax credits until July 1, 2017, and limits the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated to qualified motion pictures in any fiscal year to $100,000,000 through the 2016–17 fiscal year. Existing law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, also allows a credit against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. Existing law provides for a tentative minimum tax and further provides that, except for specified credits, no other credit shall reduce the tax imposed below the tentative minimum tax. This bill would establish similar credits under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2020. This bill would, as compared to the existing tax credits, extend the scope of the credits for a qualified motion picture to the applicable percentage of qualified expenditures up to $100,000,000, would extend the credit to qualified expenditures for television pilot episodes, and would determine an applicable percentage of 25% or 20% for qualified expenditures, with an additional credit amount available, as specified. This bill would limit the aggregate amount of these new credits to be allocated in each fiscal year to up to $330 million, and would, subject to a computation and ranking of applicants based on the jobs ratio, as defined, require the California Film Commission to allocate credit amounts subject to specified categories of qualified motion pictures. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, allow a credit against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. This bill would also require the Legislative Analyst's Office to prepare reports related to the effectiveness and administration of the qualified motion picture credit under the Sales and Use Tax Law, the Personal Income Tax Law, and the Corporation Tax Law. This bill would, for taxable years, beginning on or after January 1, 2016, additionally allow the credit under the Corporation Tax Law for qualified expenditures for the production of qualified motion pictures to reduce the tentative minimum tax. This bill would also make findings and declarations related to the entertainment industry, and would urge the United States Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to investigate and impose sanctions on specified motion picture productions and elements of production to combat unfair and illegal competition. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The bill would state that its provisions are severable. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 23036 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, proposed by AB 2754, to be operative only if AB 2754 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law, the Collateral Recovery Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of repossession agencies by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would require a repossession agency to only transact business with a person or entity as an independent contractor, and would prohibit a licensed repossession agency from allowing a person or entity, other than the qualified certificate holder or the owner or officer of the repossession agency, to manage the day-to-day operations, operate, control, or transact business under the license of the repossession agency, except as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Under existing law, a financial institution that knowingly engages a nonexempt unlicensed person to repossess collateral on its behalf is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would expand the above crime to apply to a buy-here-pay-here dealer, as defined. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law prohibits a repossessor from appraising the value of any collateral. The bill would further prohibit the appraisal or determination of the value of any collateral, whether damaged or not. The bill would also require a specified statement on condition reports and would specify that condition reports do not include all damage or missing parts. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes the Director of Consumer Affairs to assess administrative fines for various prohibited acts, including using any identification to indicate registration as a repossessor, other than a registration card issued by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, except an employer identification card issued by the repossession agency which has bureau approval. Existing law allows an employee of a repossession agency to wear a badge, cap insignia, or jacket patch meeting specified requirements. This bill would except a badge, cap insignia, or jacket patch from the prohibition on using any identification to indicate registration as a repossessor. (5) Existing law authorizes the Director of Consumer Affairs to assess an administrative fine for the failure to present a debtor with an itemized receipt of payment, if payment is made in lieu of repossession. This bill would delete this provision. (6) Existing law requires that when possession is taken of a vehicle by or on behalf of a legal owner under the terms of a security or lease agreement, the debtor pay the police or parking authority a specified fee. Existing law prohibits the release of the vehicle to the debtor until the debtor provides proof of payment or pays the fee and an administrative fee to the person in possession or the legal owner. Existing law also provides for a fine if the fee is not transmitted to the police or parking authority. Existing law requires proof of payment to be retained by the party releasing possession to the debtor. This bill would delete the provisions that allow the release of a vehicle to a debtor who pays the fee and an administrative fee to the person in possession or the legal owner. The bill would make other conforming changes to this provision. (7) Existing law requires the person taking possession of a vehicle whenever possession is taken by or on behalf of any legal owner under the terms of a security agreement or lease agreement to notify local law enforcement within one hour of the repossession, as specified. Violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would require the repossessor to contact law enforcement within one hour of the repossession, would specify information that would be required to be provided in the notification, and, if law enforcement is unable to receive and record the notification, require the person to continue to attempt notification until the required information is provided, as specified. By expanding the provisions of existing law, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (8) Existing law prohibits a person from driving, moving, or leaving standing upon a highway or offstreet public parking facility any motor vehicle or other specified vehicle, unless it is registered and the appropriate fees have been paid. Existing law provides that a vehicle repossessed pursuant to the terms of a security agreement is exempt from registration solely for the purpose of transporting the vehicle from the point of repossession to the storage facilities of the repossessor, and from the storage facilities to the legal owner or a licensed motor vehicle auction, provided that the repossessor transports with the vehicle the appropriate documents authorizing the repossession and makes them available to a law enforcement officer on request. This bill would additionally exempt from the registration requirement a vehicle obtained by a licensed repossessor as a release of collateral for the purpose of removing the vehicle to the storage facility or the facility of the legal owner. The bill requires a law enforcement agency, impounding authority, tow yard, storage facility, or any other person or entity that has possession of the vehicle to release the vehicle without requiring current registration. The bill would require a legal owner of collateral to hold a law enforcement agency, city, county, city and county, the state, a tow yard, storage facility, or impound yard harmless from liability if collateral is released in compliance with statute. (9) Existing law establishes offenses for, among other things, willfully tampering or injuring a vehicle or its contents, as specified. This bill would prohibit a person from interfering with the transport of a vehicle or other collateral to a storage facility, auction, or dealer by an individual who is employed by a repossession agency or is licensed as a repossession agency once repossession is complete, as provided. Violation of these provisions would be an infraction pursuant to other provisions of law. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (10) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (11) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.